Cardano Bleeds $1B as Investors Bolt—History Repeats Before ATH?

Deja vu hits Cardano markets as whales dump nearly $1 billion in ADA—mirroring the exodus before its last parabolic rally. Are retail traders about to be left holding the bag again?

Pattern recognition alert: The same ’smart money’ flight preceded ADA’s 2021 all-time high. This time, institutional players are rotating into Ethereum L2s while whispering about ’overdue corrections.’

Cynic’s corner: When crypto VCs talk ’risk management,’ check your wallet. Their exit liquidity usually comes wearing a ’long-term HODL’ T-shirt.

• Since early 2025, almost $1 billion in ADA has flowed out of centralized exchanges, as per Taptools report.
• Similar outflow levels were last seen in 2021 when ADA reached its $3.10 all-time high.
• Charles Hoskinson confirmed potential DeFi collaboration with Litecoin, boosting cross-chain partnership speculation.

Cardano (ADA) is showing signs of a major shift, as nearly $1 billion ($932M) worth of its tokens has vanished from centralized exchanges. The MOVE has caught the attention of analysts, with TapTools confirming this ongoing trend since January 2025. That large-scale outflow echoes the kind of movement last seen during its 2021 price surge to $3.10.

The chart points to two key periods: ADA’s all-time high (ATH) in 2021 and the ongoing outflows in 2025. The current withdrawals, marked heavily in red, show sustained outflows exceeding $100 million in several instances, suggesting accumulation or a move toward long-term holding.

During the 2021 ATH, ADA’s price peaked just above $3, with a notable spike in inflows and volatility. In contrast, recent outflows are unfolding without a dramatic price spike, hinting that investors might be pulling coins from exchanges ahead of potential future gains.

If this trend continues, it could create supply constraints on exchanges — a condition that, combined with demand, might fuel the next leg of Cardano’s bull run.

DeFi Collaboration with Litecoin Could Boost ADA

In addition to the outflow trend, a potential partnership between Cardano and Litecoin has sparked growing interest. Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s founder, recently addressed rumors about a strategic DeFi collaboration with Litecoin. This speculation had been circulating for months, and the conversation gained traction after crypto commentator Angry Crypto Show posted a viral tweet.

“Litecoin has incredible branding and a strong community. Charles has mentioned multiple times his interest to include Litecoin in a variety of DeFi options,” the tweet stated. Hoskinson responded quickly, confirming the connection. “Love the Litecoin community and have known Charlie and Bobby for over a decade. Great community!” he wrote.

Love the litecoin community and have known charlie abd Bobby for over a decade. Great community! https://t.co/I3tsOcQK4j

This exchange hints that Cardano may be looking to integrate Litecoin into its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, particularly through the upcoming privacy protocol, Midnight. Such a collaboration would represent a significant cross-chain partnership, bringing together two of the oldest and most established Layer-1 blockchains in the market.

ADA ETF Approval Could Fuel Market Growth

Another source of Optimism comes from the rising chance of a U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Cardano. Forecasts from prediction platform Polymarket show a 64% probability that the SEC will approve a spot Cardano ETF before the end of the year. That would open the door to broader institutional investment, similar to what happened when Bitcoin gained ETF status.

Grayscale is the only firm that has submitted an official filing for such a product. The SEC acknowledged that application back in February. Grayscale also played a central role in getting the first spot Bitcoin ETF across the line, giving some extra weight to its latest push for ADA.

Meanwhile, 21Shares, a Swiss asset manager, already offers a cardano ETP that has gathered over $72 million under management. This shows clear demand from institutional investors who see value in Cardano’s technology and future prospects.

With assets leaving exchanges, potential cross-chain partnerships, and ETF momentum gaining speed, the path ahead for ADA could mirror earlier patterns. Whether that leads back to $3.10 depends on sentiment, and continued traction across both retail and institutional players. But signals are starting to point in a familiar direction.

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